Preparing Your Kid for the Common Core Smarter Standard Test

Last time we were I Costco there were a bunch of workbooks and help books based on common core. They're starting to make their way into stores a lot around here. They will say on the cover that they are common core compatible.
If you have a Lakeshore near you, you can look there as well.

the point of the common core test is to test your school, not your child. if many of the kids in the school perform poorly, the school should know to beef up its efforts.
and of course, common core is relative at best.
there are tests for which you DO need to help your child prepare. this isn't one of 'em.
khairete
S.

His teachers will be preparing the students. Your child will also have homework. I suggest that you also working on academics separate from the school is over emphasising academics. Geez! When do kids get to play and be kids.

Isn't the purpose of the test to know how well the school is teaching those subjects?

Please do not try to prepare her for the test (beyond making sure she eats a good breakfast and gets enough sleep and you are doing that everyday, right?). The goal of school is LEARNING - and developing life long learners. The tests are an unfortunate part of the process that only discourage kids from the real goal. We should NOT be teaching to the test.

The schools are already handling it. You have no need to tackle this at home. These standardized tests being pushed at school AND at home only make for extremely stressed out children. My third daughter starts them this year, and my children have always done best when I take a very hands off approach (regarding the State standardized testing), and their teachers are laid back about the tests.

The tests say nothing about my childrens' intelligence. They're nothing but a way for the states to take a snapshot of how they think the TEACHERS are performing.

EDIT: Seriously, no extra studying for these standardized state tests. The children don't need them. The teachers will be handling them and preparing the children for them. As a parent you should be handling the typical homework and studies. I'm very much in a been-there-done-that position and have been for several years now. The TEACHERS encourage this approach.

I will make sure my kids get to sleep at a decent hour the night before and that they eat breakfast that morning. That's it!

I'm a teacher in a district that uses Common Core curriculum and our state tests will be based on that curriculum either this year or next year. You can't study for those types of standardized tests. The best you can do is support your child with what the classroom teacher is doing. I know our district has spent several years now being sure that our curriculum matches the standards in the Common Core. If that curriculum is taught well, the results of the tests should also be strong.

The results of tests should be used by teachers to look at individual student mastery of the standards. If a student has not mastered a standard, the teacher should use that information to teach that standard to the student again. As a teacher, I can tell you that most teachers don't put a lot of stock into one test result. We look at test scores in conjunction with what we see in the classroom on a daily basis. Standardized tests that are given just once or twice a year act more as one data source for identifying which students may need other interventions (remedial work, gifted services, etc.).

Like others have mentioned, you can look at the Common Core website to find out what is expected at your child's grade level and you may find examples of the types of questions students may be asked to help show mastery of a skill, but you won't find specific questions that will show up on tests.

I caution about using workbooks that you can buy that say they are Common Core based. Publishers just want to make a buck and they will slap any title on the cover of a book that they think will make it sell. As a teacher, I have yet to see a Common Core workbook that truly matches with the Common Core. I've even found a few "professional books" that truly do not match with the Common Core. Most schools who use Common Core actually frown on the use of worksheets and workbooks in the classroom because there is really no value in filling out blanks on a worksheet.

Ask your child's teacher how you can support you child at home.

I trust our school and teachers to prepare the students.
And I'm sure to tell my sin that this is a test for the teachers and the school--to make certain that they are teaching/emphasizing the correct material.

I really could care less about those standardized tests.

The real test result is are they enjoying school, are they respectful to those around them, are they learning good study habits, are they learning good eating and sleeping habits, do they feel safe and secure at home, do they feel safe and secure at school, do they have friends and interact well with them, do they take constructive criticism/critique and then try to improve? These will make for a successful adult...not bubbling in the right answer.

I make sure they have a good night's sleep, a good snack&lunch and they get a kiss and hug as they head out the door. Then when the test results come in, I take a peek and then they get dumped in the recycling bin. Seriously...we don't care about them. Their daily work and behavior is what determines their "success" in my book.

Definitely check out the CCSS website http://www.corestandards.org/ to get yourself educated better on the standards and the curriculum etc. It was quite useful for me.

As for books, Carlson Delusa workbooks are pretty good. If you have an iPad or iPhone, you can check out the 1 Minute Math Gym practice workbook apps for ages 4 to 10 on the apple store here

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1-minute-math-gym-2nd-gra...

Why do you have to prepare your child. Isn't this test a way to sort of grade the education program? To see if the teachers are teaching what is needed, at what age, and if it's showing progress?

I would think that doing their teaching at home would limit this tests outcome.

But then I am not sure how this test differs from the current standard testing.

I'm a parent and educator in CA.
As a parent, I am not doing anything to prepare my child for the new test. She is going to do how she is going to do. The test does not really have any bearing on her placement or her success anywhere else in academia, so I'm not worried about it.
As an educator I am more worried about how the students at my school will be prepared and how they will do, and how that will change our future teaching practices. NO one quite knows what to expect these first few years.
The results do not bear any individual effect on a student so I am not concerned from that angle.

Like Katrina said, purchase the workbooks. Help him do a page a night.

What lucky little girl to have such a caring mom!

I think the one thing you could do to prepare her, is to familiarize her with computer basics. Knowing how to use a mouse and keyboard, how to minimize a page, highlight, copy and paste, etc. will allow her to concentrate on showing her knowledge and skills instead of enjoying the novelty of using a computer. I heard that children may be using ipads to take the tests on. If you are able to find out if your schools will use a PC or a ipad then you can give her experience with that machine.